H1-4, S39 Junction on the East side. This is where we saw the wild dog pack attempting to take out pups left with only 2 adult baby sitters in 2000. In 2004 we saw more pups there - seems to be a successful clan.

H11 between Skukuza and the H4-1, on the SouthEast side of the road, at the bottom of a steep bank.

H4-1 just North of the H11 junction on the side of the road of the river (pretty close to the above den!)

H12, just north of the S30 junction on the East side of the road, also down a steep bank. They had medium sized pups 2 months ago

Mothers hold their children's hands for a while and their hearts forever

I've seen a german scientist presenting facts about the spotted hyena on TV. Picture-wise it was totally boring, they just showed the guy and no hyena at all, but he had some interesting things to say after 17 years of studying hyena packs (so I really do think he is kind of an expert)1. In contrary to widespread belief, female hyenas do not have higher testosterone levels than other female mammals2.Their sometimes aggressive behaviour is therefore not testosterone-driven, but females work in teams and can always count on their female partner to support them, so it's easy to be aggressive if you win by numbers3.The more subordinate a male behaves, the more viable offspring he will produce. The whole mating business is up to the females, which will pick the nice and gentle guys. A macho male hasn't got as much success. So, in fact, it's probably not excessive female aggression but male subordination that keeps the matriarchal hyena society going.This was all quite new to me, maybe some other people can comment on this and add some facts.

I think the thing with the testosterone is interesting, but then again I don't remember ever thinking that they have more testosterone than other female mammals, I remember that they get a huge testosterone boost while still being an embrio. Maybe it dissappates after a while?

Interesting bit about the subordinate males that get more action. Who ever said nice guys finish last? Not there!!!

Hyena's are indeed very enthralling animals and I think another 50 years of study will still not reveal all the facts.

Hans Kruuk worked on them for many years (60's - 70's), but he was studying them during the old school thought of testosterone-being the driver of female assertiveness etc. Unless, the same guy has unravelled new theory or his co-students - Perhaps another of his countrymen.

Anyway, if you get name of guy and his article refs. let us know.

In meantime, I'll hold onto the aloofness of the silent type when I am next on a courting mission !

We investigated the reproductive outcomes of male and female mating tactics in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta, a female-dominated social carnivore with high maternal investment, an absence of paternal care and female control over copulation. Paternity was determined using microsatellite profiling of 236 offspring in 171 litters from three clans. We found little evidence that male tactics that sought to coerce or monopolize females were successful. Polyandry and sperm competition appeared to counter effectively pre-copulatory male tactics, such as harassment, monopolization and other tactics, such as infanticide, that were against the evolutionary interests of females, and may have contributed to the stability of the male dominance hierarchy, which operated as a social queue. At least 39% of 54 females mated multiply, and 35% of 75 twin litters were fathered by two sires. Polyandry may also serve to ensure fertilization, compensate for an initial poor-quality mate or ensure fertilization by genetically compatible mates. Female mate choice matched observed patterns of affiliative male-female behaviour, indicating that affiliative behaviour is a successful male mating tactic and was consistent with the idea that male tenure may serve as an index of male quality, although male fertility may decline with extreme old age.

The thing Hofer says about the testosteron levels is interesting and contradicts what I've read about hyaena's. This is what WildlifeCampus has to say about the spotted hyaena:

"Dominance and aggression within the clan are based on the members' relative testosterone levels. The dominant female, in one very large clan of 70 individuals, was found to have levels of this male hormone six times higher than the next animal."

In the Behaviour Guide to African Mammals by Richard Despard Estes it is mentioned that "Aggressiveness is mediated by male sex hormones, especially testosterone......Preliminairy evidence was borne out in a study indicating that females and males have equal concentrations of male hormone in their circulation".

Surely the first people that published these findings did some scientific experimentation? Surely they measured the level of testosterone in females before they said it's very high?
How come now someone is saying it isn't? Who is measuring the testosterone and who isn't? Who got published without actually doing the work?

It is not easy to get published. If you put out a book, you need to show how you came to certain findings. I am so confused . More than what is normal for blonde.

When you check medline for hyena and testosterone, you won't find any published result about T levels in females. There are some hints about elevated T levels during pregnancy, probably made by the placenta, which are thought to play a role in the development of the genitals, and about high levels in newborn pups.
Some good information is also found here.
Just some notes on measuring hormone levels: They can be measured in blood serum and, nowadays, in droppings as well (non-invasive), which is good when dealing with wild hyenas.
Just measuring the level will not necessarily give you an idea of how effective the hormone is: Fractions are bound to blood proteins (=ineffective) or are metabolized in different tissues to more or less effective compounds. So it may not be as straightforward as we like it to be, confusion about topics like this is therefore rather the norm than the exception.

Elsa wrote:I am not sure if it would be the same den as the one we saw before, but this one was in a culvert that runs through under the road and it was between the Ngotso North waterhole and the S89, on the H1-4.There were a lot of hyenas of various ages running around, at that time, with one main babysitter in attendance.

Thanks Elsa, we also saw them at that exact spot few times before. Just didn't think they would still be there!
Will go and have a look

Once the pack has decided which animal in the herd to attack, the Spotted Hyaena chases its prey over long distances, tiring the animal until it falls. They also bring prey animals down by tearing at the flesh as they run. They mostly hunt at night.

You are correct in describing the hunting behaviour of the Spotted Hyena.

I do not think that they are really good at ambush though! They are not built for stealth, in fact they sound more like a bulldozer when you hear them moving through the bush at night! Although, when opportunity presents itself they will use ambush as well.

I once saw a program on a pair of Hyenas that actually used an ambush technique. The one would prod the animal in the direction of its mate that was hiding in a dip. When the unsuspecting prey got close enough, it would rush out and grab it. The pair regularly used the same technique and place. I do however think that this is the exception, rather than the rule.